PLANS are being drawn up for a $40 million to $50 million motorsports circuit-cum-entertainment centre in Tuas.

The development, spearheaded by Singapore Agro Agriculture, which is behind food-and-retail hub Turf City and kampung-style farm produce centre Farmart in Tengah, is slated to straddle two plots of land between the Asia Pacific Breweries plant and Raffles Marina.

If built, it will boast a 540,000 sq m facility with a 5km race course. While that would be long enough for Formula One races sanctioned by world racing body Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, it is unlikely to be another F1 venue.

Instead, it will be vying to host regional racing events, such as Formula BMW Asia and Porsche's Carrera Cup Asia.

A Singapore Land Authority spokesman said it had been approached by an undisclosed party, and that talks are still 'pretty exploratory'.

Industrial space landlord JTC Corp said it is 'evaluating proposals, together with other government agencies like the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Sports Council'.

It was JTC which invited proposals for the site in October 2003 as part of its vision to develop the Tuas area as a complement to Jurong Industrial Estate.

Singapore Agro Agriculture declined to talk about the project.

A source close to the plan said the planned development would create up to 1,000 new jobs, and give tourists another reason to visit Singapore.

The Straits Times understands the project could cost up to $50 million, including the cost of leasing the land for 20 years.

To be financially viable, the development has to have a plot ratio big enough to house a host of other tenants - from restaurants to retail outlets, from car dealerships to tyre shops.

'It might also have R&D facilities for manufacturers, and a petrol station,' claimed another party in the know.

The plot ratio, to be decided by the URA, will determine whether the project goes ahead.

Nevertheless, the prospect of a permanent racing circuit - a first for Singapore - has got some quarters excited.

The managing director of Porsche Asia Pacific, Mr Christer Ekberg, said: 'If it comes true, it'll be absolutely fantastic. But from a cost point of view, a street circuit would require less investment.'

The Singapore Motor Sports Association has been lobbying for such a circuit - where public roads are closed for racing - in Marina South.

Very high chance if they can raise $50 millions, also government support (Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Sports Council) will be very critical for this project to be successful

Very high chance if they can raise $50 millions, also government support (Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore Tourism Board and the Singapore Sports Council) will be very critical for this project to be successful

But isn't Tuas like very far?? They might have to work on the transport infrastruture to make it work (like MRT line etc)......

To enhance the public transport system for residents in Jurong West Town area and those working in the Jurong and Tuas industrial estates, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) will be extending the East West Line from Boon Lay Station westwards into the Jurong Industrial Estate.

This project, known as Boon Lay MRT Extension (BLE) for short, will add another 3.8-km to the existing East West Line. The BLE will be fully-elevated with two MRT stations. One station will be built at Jurong West Street 63, between Jurong Street 61 and Pioneer Road North, and the other station at Joo Koon Circle, near the junction of Benoi Road and International Road. Please see Annex for alignment and station locations.

The overall project cost will be about S$436 million. Construction is targeted to start sometime in the second half of 2005 and is expected to complete in 2009. Tenders for the contract are expected to be called in the first half of 2005.

Singapore Grand Prix was discontinued in 1972 due to the increase in traffic and the inconvenience of having to close several roads for it. A plan to relocate the circuit also fell through. Finally, a fatal accident at the Grand Prix sealed its fate.

The managing director of Porsche Asia Pacific, Mr Christer Ekberg, said: 'If it comes true, it'll be absolutely fantastic. But from a cost point of view, a street circuit would require less investment.'

The Singapore Motor Sports Association has been lobbying for such a circuit - where public roads are closed for racing - in Marina South.

No need to have street circuit here, if you come by Shenton Way, you should be able to see a lot of young "Ferrari & Porsche" punks speeding along the road. Funniest part is they speed for 100m, stop by a traffic light,speed again for 50m and then stop by another traffic light. "Like that also shiok?" But cannot blame them lah, not a lot of people here can afford Ferrari or Porsche, some will never have the chance to touch the ferrari steering wheel for the whole life.

I remember our dear friend Dr. Mahathir did say before: when Singaporean speed their Ferrari car at Singapore, they will fall into sea. Don't get him wrong:
Actually he is with good intention, he is worried that Singaporean Ferrari driver might forget to wear life jacket when driving and might have themselves killed when they over speed and fall into the sea.

I remember our dear friend Dr. Mahathir did say before: when Singaporean speed their Ferrari car at Singapore, they will fall into sea. Don't get him wrong:
Actually he is with good intention, he is worried that Singaporean Ferrari driver might forget to wear life jacket when driving and might have themselves killed when they over speed and fall into the sea.

He realy said that?!?!? hehehe

ANyway it is a well-known fact that these Ferraris and Porches punks speeding along the highways of Malaysia. The speeding fine is very cheap to these people

During the F1 weekend.....you'll see convoys of Ferraris and Porches making their way to the Sepang F1 Circuit. I once saw a convoy of 28 BMW 7-Series from Singapore!

__________________To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

When packaged with projects such as the casino, the argument for motor racing packs quite a punch

By RONNIE LIM

IT IS undoubtedly a sport of kings, as well as would-be Michael Schumachers, regardless of whether they are behind the wheel of a Kuala Lumpur taxi or a souped-up Proton.

Last weekend, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, riding in a convertible and in sweltering heat, gamely led Formula One drivers around Sepang for a pre-race parade. And in the pits, I saw VVIPs like Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, as well as former prime minister and now Proton adviser Mahathir Mohamad, who was driving a sporty Porsche Cayenne, pull up. His son Mokhzani is, after all, chairman of the Sepang circuit.

There was clear branding being stamped on the Malaysian Grand Prix - not just by those associated with the sport, but from the ground up to the very top.

The F1 party in KL, in fact, started weeks before. Hotels were all fully booked and so were flights. International artistes like Black Eye Peas and many others were brought in for these parties. I was happily swinging with other Singaporean F1 fans - part of a massive contingent of 15,000 there on race weekend - at a Sunway Lagoon party that was just one of many in 'happening' KL.

This successful 'branding' of the Malaysian F1 - now into its seventh year and growing ever-stronger - is clearly paying off, not just for the organisers, but also in promoting Malaysia as an international destination. Race Day saw a record of more than 106,000 spectators, 40 per cent of them foreigners. This meant spin-offs for the hotel, transport and retail industries, not counting the corporate sponsors.

'We can't afford not to be involved,' an ExxonMobil official said of its F1 participation, especially with rivals like Shell and Elf also promoting their brands to millions of fans worldwide through the sport.

'Besides, it's the pinnacle of motor sports,' the official said, adding that the company does not merely use F1 as a product signboard but is also an active technology partner, helping to develop lubricants and fuels for the race teams it sponsors.

From its Mobil 1 lubricant involvement with McLaren-Mercedes since 1978, ExxonMobil is also a Toyota team player with its Esso lubricants. It also supplies petrol for the two teams, but deploys different technical support teams.

'Our fuel is specially developed for us and has a different viscosity, for instance, with the formula known only to us,' a McLaren-Mercedes team official said. And alongside the development work that McLaren has just embarked on for its 2006 F1 car, ExxonMobil is working on lubricants and fuels for the vehicle.

Does it pay off?

Relative newcomer Toyota's first appearance on the podium in KL, through Jarno Trulli's second placing, put Esso's name up there with it. Brand building and publicity are its returns on such motorsport investments.

'As a direct correlation, previous successes by the McLarens saw sales of Mobil 1 surging as a result,' said a company executive, although apart from immediate results, the pay-off is longer-term. Technology-wise, the improved product, through F1 development and experience, is also commercialised for everyday motoring.

It is this overall commitment - from fans, organisers, sponsors and the authorities - that makes for successful motor races.

Bringing back the swing

Singapore - better late than never - is trying to revive the long-lost sport, with plans for a permanent race track at Tuas. Packaged with other projects, like a casino, motor racing could undoubtedly help Singapore's bid to reinvent itself as a more exciting and attractive destination.

Not many can recall - or may be aware - that Singapore, like next-door Johor, once staged exciting motor GPs long before Sepang. I remember trekking through the forest at the Sembawang circuit, like thousands of other fans, on Easter weekend, to get to vantage spots like Devil's Bend. And I am disappointed at how this prestigious annual event degenerated into occasional carpark races at Kallang in later years.

While F1 is practically out for Singapore now, it can - hopefully - still tap into the regional motor racing calendar like Macau. This would make good business sense, especially given the booming Asian car industry from Malaysia and Indonesia to Thailand and China. Besides, with that bit more commitment from all quarters, the sight, sound and fury of motor-racing here would surely help bring back some swing to our city.

I vaguely remember that a proposal was raised to build a track in East Coast when F1 wanted a stop in S E Asia. It didn't realise because the government was so tracked minded they didn't allow tabacco advertisements at all. So F1 went to Sepang.